Improvement in mechanisms for propelling railway-cars



A. SPEEB.

Mechanisms for Propeliing Rai'iway-Gars.

Patented Feb. 24,1874.

Llo o Hl II Witnesses:

Attorneys.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED SPEER, OF PASSAIC, NEW JERSEY.

IMPROVEMENT IN MECHANISMS FOR PROPELLING RAILWAY-CARS;

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 147,876, dated February 24, 1874; application filed August 30, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED SPEER, of Fassaic, in the county of Passaic and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Endless Traveling Sidewalks, of which the following is a specification:

The invention will first be fully described, and then pointed out in the claim. 5

Figure l is a plan view of the bottoms of parts of the cars and a truck, showing my plan of coupling the cars together and to the trucks. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of Fig. 1 on the line 00 00. Fig. 3 is a transverse section of Fig. 1', taken on the line 3 y; and Fig. 4 is a detail view, showing the arran gement of the outside flanges on the wheels and the wide outside rails of the curves.

Similar letters of reference indicate corre sponding parts.

Aand B represent the two cars to be coupled together. A is constructed at the end on a convex curve, 0, struck from the axis of the pivot-bolt D, by which the two cars are coupled, the radius being equal to half the short diameter of the cars, and the car B is concaved to correspond, so that when the cars are coupled close together by the king-bolt D they will swing relatively to each other, without opening cracks at the joints, thus making a continuous unbroken sidewalk, on which people may walk as on a continuous floor. The i'rame pieces E F G of car B extend sufficiently beyond the top, and the corresponding pieces of carAterminate sufficiently short of its end to meet at the axis D, and the two piecesG are provided with metal clips H and the pieces F with clips I, which overlap each other, and are connected together by the bolt. The kingbolt also passes through the bolster J at the center of a car-truck of four wheels, and the cross-pieces G rest on the side frame K of the truck, so that one truck supports the ends of two cars. L is the endless flange, projecting downward from the middle longitudinal timber F, for applying the power by the frictionrolls M upon the upper ends of the vertical shafts O, rising up from below, and nipping it on both sides between them. These rolls may be faced with india-rubber, if preferred, to increase the friction. Springs may also be used to press them on the flange. The flange is matched with beveled ends N, where the sections meet at the joints of the cars to make it continuous. 0 represents the widened out side rails at the turns of the road, and P the flanges on the outside of the wheels, to rise upon the surface to increase the size of the outside wheels for traveling the greater distance of the outside rail over the inside rails without slipping. These flanges are not quite so high as the inside flanges, so that the latter are not prevented from guiding the wheels properly.

I propose to employ the mode of joining the platforms and coupling cars together described as the first part of invention for ordinary cars, as well as for those of an endless train, to which it is alike applicable.

I am aware that cables, plates, supportingrolls, and drivingwheels are old in themselves, and have been heretofore variously combined therefore,

WVhat I claim is The combination of two horizontal drivingwheels, M M, spring-pressed toward each other, with a truck-flange, L, projecting downwardly between them, and sloped to an. angle at the end D, so that there will be a continuous action on the flange as the driving-wheels pass the ends of flange, the wheels griping the one end of the flange before they have let go the other, all as set forth.

WVitnesses: ALFRED SPEER.

A. P. THAYER, ALEX. F. ROBERTS. 

